Thread by @TonyMoonbeam

@VP will be traveling to Tanzania, Zambia, and Ghana this month. @GullahRehabbed will explain the importance of her trip to national security and opposing the Chinese Belt and Road project.

Let's put it in context and look at what's been done in the South China Sea. A thread:

@VP @GullahRehabbed To scare its neighbors into accepting its illegitimate claims, China:

(1) Instructs Kim Jong Un to fire missiles off the coast of Korea and Japan
(2) Directs large fleets to raid the fishing grounds of other countries
(3) Builds artificial islands in international waters

@VP @GullahRehabbed In 2022, the @vp visited the DMZ to reaffirm our military alliance with Korea and Japan, calling it the "cornerstone" for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.

That December Japan reportedly considered revising its rules to allow exportation of lethal weaponry to Ukraine 😎

@VP @GullahRehabbed She visited the Philippines and spoke with President Marcos about Chinese fishing vessels raiding the waters off the coast of Palawan. Last month, the Philippines agreed to an expanded US military presence.

npr.org/2023/02/02/115…

@VP @GullahRehabbed She attended APEC in Thailand to sell our allies in Southeast Asia on a friendly business environment. Given reshoring operations out of China are already in motion, American business and national security interests were in alignment.

abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/u…

@VP @GullahRehabbed And in 2021, she already laid the groundwork for greater cooperation between the US and Singapore + Vietnam, two nations that overwhelmingly feel the brunt of China's bullying power.

reuters.com/world/asia-pac…

@VP @GullahRehabbed With China regularly menacing its neighbors, the American diplomatic offensive in Asia has already seen great success in mending relationships.

Korea and Japan, who have had beef for centuries, are barreling toward warmer relations:

apnews.com/article/south-…

@VP @GullahRehabbed American troops are now participating in joint military exercises with Singapore and Thai forces

pacaf.af.mil/News/Article-D…

@VP @GullahRehabbed The U.S., U.K. and Australia are also executing a deal that will see the Aussies receiving nuclear-powered Virginia class submarines to defend itself against Chinese aggression.

The VP has met with PM Scott Morrison many times.

bbc.com/news/world-aus…

@VP @GullahRehabbed The battlefields of the future are in Africa and Southeast Asia. The foreign policy of the Biden Administration is peerless and I have every confidence that they will continue to leverage both American soft and hard power to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.